Friday, April 24, 2009

I can't believe that it's been a month since I posted my last update. I have no excuse except that I've been too busy, enjoying my four babies as they blossom into little people with heart-stopping smiles and infectious laughs!

Isaac continues to be our big boy at 14 pounds. His new trick is to suck on his fists and then rub them all over his face, which has the unfortunate effect of making his skin break out (we call this condition "formula face"; the cure is to just wash his face more often!). Isaac also loves to smile and coo at the chandelier in our living room. His big news, though, is that he has slept through the night on 6 of the last 7 days! Ted and I are absolutely thrilled by this development; we never expected our most demanding eater to be the second one to sleep through the night. Let's hope he keeps it up!

Isaac wearing one of Lindsay's cute"One-Two-Three-Four" bibs

Jude is about the same length as Isaac, but weighs only 12 pounds. A couple of days ago I put him on his tummy and he propped himself up on his arms for the first time—and then he surprised me by immediately rolling over onto his back! In the past week, he has also started to intentionally reach for the toys that hang from the play gym. Right now, Jude is the biggest talker of the bunch, and his face lights up when he sees Mommy or Daddy. I could gaze into his beautiful brown eyes and listen to him say "goo" and "boo" all day!

Tio Johnny and Jude make a connection duringJohnny and Holly's visit late last month

Dahlia has been sleeping through the night for over a month now and currently weighs 11 pounds. She demands the most one-on-one attention, and scrunches up her face in delight when she realizes that you are talking to her. Fortunately, entertaining her can be as easy as folding laundry in front of her—she gets a big kick out of that! Her favorite place to be is on the changing table, probably because she gets undivided attention there. She's very strong during tummy time and I wouldn't be surprised if she is the next to roll over!

Dahlia chilling in her Bumbo

Lucia remains the tiniest of the bunch at just over 10 pounds (I keep telling her that she needs to eat more if she wants to grow up and be a leggy supermodel). She is so mellow that sometimes I am afraid I don't give her enough attention! She is also very bright: A couple of weeks ago, she was the first baby to notice the others, which led to our first quad-to-quad interaction on Easter, when Jude looked right at her and said "goo" while Lucy returned his gaze and squealed with laughter. It was adorable!

Lucy sharing a quiet moment with Abuelito Nehielduring his visit earlier this month

We are so grateful for how well the babies are doing—so far they are keeping up with their chronological age (meaning that they are acting like 4-month-olds, and not like they were due just 2.5 months ago) and are as healthy as can be. Ted and I have nothing to complain about, so we gripe about the lack of sleep. We did get some relief on Ted's birthday this week, though, when my mom (who's here for a few days) and her sister Esther took quad duty and sent us to a hotel for the night. We can't thank them enough for doing that! Although we were a little sad to leave these adorable faces for that long:

Jude, Lucia, Dahlia, and Isaac (left to right) in the hoodiesthat Tio Johnny and Aunt Holly gave them

Last but not least, I'm happy to announce that our stroller arrived a couple of weeks ago! The Everest Quad Buggy (from the Adventure Buggy Company in New Zealand) is a double-decker beast that maneuvers like a dream and has removable sun and rain shields, built-in storage, and four reclining seats with sun roofs—the babies don't realize how lucky they are to have such a sweet ride. We've been out in it several times, enjoying the sunshine and the wind in our faces. We haven't gotten too much attention around the neighborhood yet, so we've been able to enjoy some very peaceful walks. Thanks for the tip on this great stroller, Jenna!